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This Week at Costco – July 13, 2014

I know to any other place in the world our heatwave – supposed to be around 90 F Friday and Saturday – right now in London doesn’t seem that bad. Well, I might be able to get some sympathy from Scandinavia. But really, it seems so hot and humid here, in a place where there’s not a whole lot of air conditioning, that is feels just as miserable as temps over 100 F in Austin ever did. Thankfully we got some hot weather friendly foods and beverages when we were at Costco last weekend. Sadly though, it looks like it is going to be pretty hot next week too. Ugh! We might have to take a trip to Iceland to cool off!

Kirkland Signature Organic Lemonade

Kirkland Signature Organic Lemonade – This is the perfect thing to write about when it is going to be 90 degrees outside! I don’t know how long Costco has had the Kirkland Signature lemonade, but this is the first time we’ve ever seen it. We were kind of on the fence about buying it because the bottles are HUGE and our fridge is very not huge. But Dave is a big fan of lemonade, so we decided we’d get it, throwing caution to the wind and ignoring the refrigerator space. Yeah, we’re wild and crazy! LOL After we tasted it though, we were so thrilled that we didn’t let the fridge bully us into not getting it. It is delicious and refreshing! And chilled in the fridge it is perfect for summer. It’s all totally organic and there’s nothing chemically in the list of ingredients: filtered water, organic lemon juice from concentrate, organic sugar, and organic lemon flavour. It is deliciously lemony without too much of a painful tart taste. It seems to me that they have the perfect blend of lemon and sugar, to get the balance of sweet to tart just right. I think if it were less sweet it would be verging into the too tart, mouth puckering lemonade side of things. Dave likes things way more tart than I do but he also thinks that the blend of this lemonade is perfect. Also, it smells as good as it tastes. It’s like a little bottle of fresh sunshine because of that great lemon scent. The bottle was too wide to fit into the compartment on the fridge door, but luckily the bottles are not round so we were able to stand it up on its side on the shelves instead. It’s really quite good and if they still have it when we go back to Costco in August, we will definitely be picking it up again. 2, 96 fl oz bottles for £5.79. Item #: 0736083.

Bearfields Prime Gammon Steaks

Bearfields Prime Gammon Steaks (aka Ham) – We’ve had this before, and pick it up quite often, even if it isn’t on our list. This time it was definitely a impulse purchase. This little package is really nice for our family of two since it is just four ham steaks. Dave and I both really like ham but it is kind of impractical to make a ham for just the two of us. To get a decent ham, it seems you have to get a pretty good sized one, and that usually means that we run out of our desire for ham before we actually run out of ham. Usually, way before, to be honest. And ham really doesn’t freeze very well. So, this is the perfect solution for us. We can enjoy ham without being hammed to death. To prepare the ham you just put it under the grill/broiler in the oven for about 12 or 15 minutes. The only other preparation you need to do is to score the thick rind on the outside of the steaks. When you cook it the rind gets a little crunchy but the ham stays delicious and moist. The steaks are really thick, most likely thicker than you would probably cut a slice off of your ham. I haven’t measured them but each steak is probably a half inch thick before cooking. That is definitely thick enough to be considered a “steak” cut. Dave and I have always been amazed by the absolutely delicious taste and usually end up wishing we had bought another package. We usually serve the ham steaks with some type of veggie and mashed or roasted potatoes. However, they would be incredible on a sandwich with big thick slices of homemade bread. Of course, that is predicated on the fact that I get the lead out enough to make some homemade bread. This is one of those items that is almost always available at Costco in the meat area. Unfortunately, it’s definitely not freezer friendly. Of course, the use by date on the package gives you about three weeks usually to have it, so you do have a bit of time, as long as you have the space in your fridge. 4 gammon steaks; 908 grams for £6.99. Item #: 0003882.

Dell’ Ugo Crab & Crayfish Ravioli

Dell’ Ugo Crab and Crayfish Ravioli – I love pasta of all shapes and types. Filled or non-filled, I love it all. However, this I did not love. It was actually a huge disappointment. So much so that Dave actually suggested just throwing the second package of it away. That is unheard of for him, but it really was that bad. The filling of crab and crayfish sounded like it would be totally delicious but was strangely bland. Despite cooking it for just a short time, the crayfish also had a really unpleasant texture, kind of rubbery really. But we maybe could have overcome all of that if the filling hadn’t been so ridiculously skimpy. It was ludicrous! Especially for the price of this stuff. Because yeah, there was only 9 ravioli squares in each package. After I cooked them, at least half of them looked like they had completely forgotten to put any filling in them. And while one of them did burst open during the cooking, it barely showed in the pan. Sad. I bought this because I thought the filling sounded so good and like it would be great for a nice summer meal with a salad. In reality it was just a total disappointment that left us both annoyed and hungry. I’ve bought the Dell’ Ugo ravioli before, with different fillings, and have always enjoyed it, but this was enough to make me think long and hard before purchasing any more of their ravioli products. I’m hoping this was just not their best work, but it was so so bad that I know it will colour my view of them next time I am considering getting their ravioli. And that’s really too bad, because as I said, I love pasta! 2, 235 gram packages for £7.79. Item #: 0091435.

Gillette Mach 3 Razor & Blades

Gillette Venus and Gillette Mach 3 Razor Blades – Really, we only buy our razors and razor blades at Costco now. And it isn’t just just because they are cheaper, but they are that. The way they are packaged means that you can get at least 6 – 9 months of razor blades with one package and don’t have to worry about running out anytime soon. Since it takes up hardly any space for a package of 12 or 14 razor blades, and it isn’t like we are going to stop needing to shave, this is one of those times that buying in bulk makes a lot of sense, no matter how little storage space you have at your place. At Costco, you can get the Venus razor blades by themselves which is great if you’ve already got a nice razor anyway. When I bought these, which has been a bit ago now, there had a package with four, three blade packages bundled together. The men’s Mach 3 package that we picked up for Dave last time had a razor as well as 14 replacement blades bundled together. Either way, it is a great way to buy your blades and they are often much less pricey at Costco. Of course, I am always amazed at how expensive razors are, no matter where you get them. Though we did notice that for men, at least, you can get the full razors cheaper than you can get just the replacement blades most of the time. Why is that? It certainly seems it would be more expensive to make the whole razor than just making the blades. Doesn’t it? I mean, it’s the same blade on the razor so it doesn’t seem to make much sense. According to Dave, you can even pop the blades off of the razor body if you just want to put the blades in your ‘real’ razor. Venus Razor Blades – 12 pack for £14.99. Item #: 0048933. Gillette Mach 3 Razor and Blades – 1 razor, 14 blades for £14.99. Item #: 0150595.

Please somebody help me. All day I’ve tried to find someone on the net at Costco and/or Kirkland to tell me how I can order by mail the following item: Kirkland Signature Organic Lemonade (96 fl. oz bottles). The Costco store in Clarkston, WA, tells me the item is deleted. How can such a tasty item be deleted? Is this a seasonal thing? Hopefully it is. Otherwise, please help me stock my shelves with this tasty lemonade.

Costco will take back that ravioli and refund you the full price. I’ve done it once or twice before. You should try that whenever you buy something that turns out to be such a disappointment like that.

@Joanna – I know they would have and I probably should have taken it back but I forgot to take it with me on my last trip and got sick of it taking up space in my fridge. I should probably leave them some feedback though because it was bad enough that they might want to see what’s going on with that particular variety.

First, just want you to know it was under 80° here in Austin yesterday, at least at my office. Who needs A/C?

I love Mach 3 razors and need a new handle. I wish Costco here would carry the deal with the razors/handle instead of just the razor replacements. They carry Mach 3 disposables but those things are junk (blades go dull after 2 shaves max). Since Costco does carry the Gillette Fusion with a handle I tried that package, but that system is a joke and I’ll not waste money on it again. The handle feels cheap, and the 5 blades packed onto an enormous blade-pad makes it really difficult to shave near the nostrils (I know, sounds weird, but mustache hairs there gotta be cut too) or various neck areas. The Mach 3 was the perfect maneuverable size with a nicely weighted handle and a very good cutting system that does what you want.

Did I mention that it was 80° here in Austin in mid July? No, I don’t think I did.

@Greg – Oh sure when we were there it was always scorching hot in July! Maybe we’re bad luck weather-wise. LOL

I agree with you about the razors though. The disposables seem to not last quite as long and don’t shave as well and it isn’t just the men’s razors, the women’s razors are the same way. Now we just keep those for travel and only buy the replacement blades. We bought Dave a better handle a while ago, at a regular store *gasp*, so that he could have one that didn’t seem so flimsy.